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The link below is a link to a great video series by Tim Martin from Watchman Fellowship. It is the best series on the Word of Faith Movement that I have ever seen. Done in a very irenic (peaceable) tone, this would be perfect for the WoFer who is starting to doubt the truthfulness of the WoF doctrine. It would also serve as a really good course to “deprogram” from WoF doctrine because it gives in depth refutation of WoF doctrine and WoF teachers mishandling of scripture.CLICK HERE TO SEE THIS AWESOME TEACHING SERIES ON

PLEASE WATCH AND SHARE THIS VIDEO!!! I am subscribed to this Youtube Channel for the political commentary. But when I seen the channel owner had posted this video and it looked like it was an inside scoop type situation into the types of abuses that happen at almost all Word of Faith churches, I knew I had to share this story here at this site to help get the word out of this ladies story. While I am currently pretty inattentive with the WoF exposure part of my ministry here at this site I just had to use this platform to help this lady out and to once again shine a light on the WoF Movement and once again tell THE WORD on the Word of Faith. Please share this post and this site to help get THE WORD out.

UPDATE: I was sent a link to this video where Audrey Stevenson tells her story after the fact. Here is her commentary about the indecent.

UPDATE 2: TD Jakes and Potters House issues and CYA apology. Guess what, some people are attacking Audrey and are telling her she is demon possessed. That is typical WoF abuse. This is so so outrageous. I am sure someone will be telling her she has fortified her salvation by “touching The Lords anointed”. I think she will end uo with a big check because she was severely abused both physically and spiritually.

UPDATE 3: This is a commentary video by Letisha Brown, who hosted Audrey’s commentary video above on her channel.

UPDATE 4: This video was put out Miss Brown yesterday. It is from Audrey before the violent incident at Potters House where she tells her story and testimony. This is some good stuff right here. I hope those at Potter House do not put out the fire for God in this young Christian’s heart. Please pray for Audrey.

All the fools that follow Kenneth Copeland done went and bought him a brand new jet airplane, again. Oh yeh, it cost 50+ million and I think he already has one, and about 6-7 more jets because as a pilot he likes to fly them, and he cannot fly with regular folks because we are full of demons or we are literally demons, and might we stop him from praying and talking to God, or something like that. H/T to Steve Lumbley

Maybe you’ve already seen it, but a video recently went viral featuring two prominent prosperity gospel preachers, Kenneth Copeland and Jesse Duplantis, defending their use of personal jets.

It’s so wild, that I’d like to break it down, step-by-step. I’m doing my best not to criticize these guys and their character, but to keep the discussion strictly on the validity (or lack thereof) of their arguments. If you’ve been blessed by their ministry, more power to you.

Also, honestly, I’m not against personal jets if you have the money, but the reasons these pastors give are so absurd they’re almost silly to me. So, as you will see, this post is a little tongue-in-cheek.

Watch the video and follow along, if you’d like.

1.If I heard it correctly, God gave these pastors personal jets so they wouldn’t have to ride in a metal tube filled with demons … like the rest of us. Yes, there is the danger of demons–especially if you’re in the back of the plane, but, as pastors, aren’t we trying to reach people for Christ? Shouldn’t they look at air travel as a metal tube filled with lost souls who need saving? Calling them demons seems a weeee bit self-serving in this argument.

You cannot tell me that charismatic men like Dr Brown are not smart enough to use deductive reasoning to tell that when scripture says we will do greater works than Jesus, it should be interpreted in a quantitative and extent sense rather than a qualitative and power sense.

Jesus’ earthly ministry had been largely limited to Galilee and Judea; His disciples, however, were going to extend His ministry to the uttermost parts of the earth.

Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Jesus raised himself from the dead, any ohas good sense and anyone who studies their bible knows that no man but Jesus ever did that. These men that insist this passage means we will do greater miracles than Jesus are just deceived or deceived and deceivers. They are not that stupid, they are driven by the same pride that got the devil kicked out of heaven, the pride of wanting to be as like God.

John 10: 17-18 17 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

The false teaching that Jesus went to hell is popular in the church today because of The Apostles Creed and the Word of Faith movement, but Jesus did not go to hell. In fact when people today think of hell they think about the lake of fire, which does not even exist yet.

Hurricane Irma is already hitting Florida. Why if these people really have power and authority over the weather? Hurricane Irma begins lashing Florida after slamming Cuba http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/09/us/hurr…

Kat Kerr and her “weather warriors” did not have enough power in their words and authority over storms to strike down Irma the first time so they are trying it again. How many times did God have to say Let There Be Light? Did Jesus have to command the wind to die down twice when he and his disciples were in the boat? I thought these people were supposed to be able to do greater works than Jesus. Obviously greater in that passage means quantitatively not qualitatively.

The Kat Kerr said – Weather Warriors Session 2 Ruling the weather is the right of every Believer because Christ stopped the storm, we can too. When you are just starting to step out against impossible odds or forecasts you must make a stand that we are changing the normal and stepping into the Supernatural. If you want to really make an impact declare every couple hours: “I command the millibars to RISE in Irma to downgrade it.” That building of high pressure in the core of the storm will devastate its power and we can also speak to the winds to begin to slow down.

I do want to say to all you Weather Warriors who are minors still living with your parents or guardians that if you are in the path of the storm, please honor their requests if they are protecting you out of Love. God gave them the responsibility to care for you and raise you. It does not mean you are stepping back or not fully taking authority because Christ hears your words and you are honoring Him with your desire to be over the Weather. We are doing this together as the Body of Christ to let the enemy know he will NO longer be in charge of our world or our lives. Let’s right now hit Irma and begin to knock it to the north out to sea where it will become nothing. We will again hit the storm around 10AM EST to the North East. I will be doing another FB live at that time or if earlier I will give you a notice. Thank you all for stepping into this new time where we will occupy and take dominion with the King of Kings

Kat Kerr is already responsible for the death and destruction from hurricane Harvey. If they could have stopped it why didn’t they? And now they are commanding hurricanes Irma, Jose and Katia to “stay away and dissipate”. Irma has already caused death and destruction in the Caribbeans. Kat Kerr and her crew are responsible for not stopping that death and destruction. Now they are claiming responsibility for hurricanes Irma, Jose and Katia. If these storms cause any misery, it is on them for not stopping the storms since they claim to be able to. If these storms cause damage we will also be able to say the Word of Faith teaching that Christians can control the weather with the power of words through the force of faith is hogwash. The belief that Christians can control storms is nothing more than witchcraft veiled in Christian terms.

It is God, not Satan, who controls the weather (Exodus 9:29; Psalm 135:6-7; Jeremiah 10:13).
God controls the skies and the rain (Psalm 77:16-19).
God controls the wind (Mark 4:35-41; Jeremiah 51:16).
God upholds and sustains the universe (Hebrews 1:3).
God has power over the clouds (Job 37:11-12, 16).
God has power over lightning (Psalm 18:14). God has power over all nature (Job 26).

Likewise you will never find a single historical reference showing Christians commanding or rebuking storms before the rise of the Word of Faith Movement. Please listen to what these prominent Word of Faith teachers have said.

They know the teaching of the Word of Faith movement is witchcraft veiled in Christian terms.

Benny Hinn: “…that if witches and occultists can speak death by the supernatural power of words, then Christian can speak life and prosperity by the same power.”
———————————
Benny Hinn: “Witches even..I mean..I’m not here to talk about witches but, but I’ll tell you this.“

Paul Crouch: “They..they under they know the secret.“

Benny Hinn: “,,,because see I had a witch tell me this. And I said what!? She said, listen to me, she said do you know that we are taught in witchcraft how to kill birds with words, and how to kill people with our mouth. I said what do you mean kill people? She said we are taught with words to bring disease on men. I said how? She said by speaking certain words (unintelligible) she said we can actually cause sickness that could very well kill.”
—————————————
Kenneth Copeland: “Jesus said that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks and that’s when the action takes place because that is when the spiritual force is brought up out of the mouth – whether it be fear or whether it be faith – and when that spiritual force comes out, it is going to give substance to that image that is inside of you. People say, ‘that is that New Age visualization stuff’. The New Age is trying to do this. And they get somewhat results out of it because it is a spiritual law.”

Kat Kerr and her “weather warriors’ are already responsible for the death and destruction from hurricane Harvey. If they could have stopped it why didn’t they? And now they are commanding hurricanes Irma, Jose and Katia to “stay away and dissipate”. Irma has already caused death and destruction in the Caribbeans. Kat Kerr and her crew are responsible for not stopping that death and destruction. Now they are claiming responsibility for hurricanes Irma, Jose and Katia. If these storms cause any misery, it is on them for not stopping the storms since they claim to be able to. If these storms cause damage we will also be able to say the Word of Faith teaching that Christians can control the weather with the power of words through the force of faith is hogwash. The belief that Christians can control storms is nothing more than witchcraft veiled in Christian terms.

It is God, not Satan, who controls the weather (Exodus 9:29; Psalm 135:6-7; Jeremiah 10:13).
God controls the skies and the rain (Psalm 77:16-19).
God controls the wind (Mark 4:35-41; Jeremiah 51:16).
God upholds and sustains the universe (Hebrews 1:3).
God has power over the clouds (Job 37:11-12, 16).
God has power over lightning (Psalm 18:14).
God has power over all nature (Job 26).

Likewise you will never find a single historical reference showing Christians commanding or rebuking storms before the rise of the Word of Faith Movement. Please listen to what these prominent Word of Faith teachers have said.

They know the teaching of the Word of Faith movement is witchcraft veiled in Christian terms.

Benny Hinn: “…that if witches and occultists can speak death by the supernatural power of words, then Christian can speak life and prosperity by the same power.”
———————————
Benny Hinn: “Witches even..I mean..I’m not here to talk about witches but, but I’ll tell you this.“

Paul Crouch: “They..they under they know the secret.“

Benny Hinn: “,,,because see I had a witch tell me this. And I said what!? She said, listen to me, she said do you know that we are taught in witchcraft how to kill birds with words, and how to kill people with our mouth. I said what do you mean kill people? She said we are taught with words to bring disease on men. I said how? She said by speaking certain words (unintelligible) she said we can actually cause sickness that could very well kill.”
—————————————
Kenneth Copeland: “Jesus said that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks and that’s when the action takes place because that is when the spiritual force is brought up out of the mouth – whether it be fear or whether it be faith – and when that spiritual force comes out, it is going to give substance to that image that is inside of you. People say, ‘that is that New Age visualization stuff’. The New Age is trying to do this. And they get somewhat results out of it because it is a spiritual law.”

A Facebook Status from one of my FB friends. Harvey stayed in Houston another 48 hours despite this status and other Christians liking it and giving hearty Amens. WHY?

In fact it is already on ya’ll. At least 14 people have died so far and so many have lost everything and millions have had their whole lives uprooted. If you have such great faith that your words have the power to control the weather why did you let all this happen when you could have used your great faith and powerful words to have stopped all this?

Who among you Word of Faith believers have enough faith to step up and use your sovereignty over storms to save lives and to stop further destruction and ruin? If you’re Word of Faith theology is correct I am calling on you to step up and use your little-god-like powers right now and stop all this. You have already caused so much suffering.

Who among you will be our savior? Answer me now, who among you have such great faith you can be the savior of the people in Texas and Louisiana?

How about you O’ Word of Faith believer, are you our man or woman of great faith? How about the people who have taught you this witchcraft veiled in Christian terms? Can they step up “in unison” and in great faith command these storms and save us?

Likewise you will never find a single historical reference showing Christians commanding or rebuking storms before the rise of the Word of Faith Movement. Please listen to what these prominent Word of Faith teachers have said.

They know the teaching of the Word of Faith movement is witchcraft veiled in Christian terms.

Benny Hinn: “…that if witches and occultists can speak death by the supernatural power of words, then Christian can speak life and prosperity by the same power.”
———————————
Benny Hinn: “Witches even..I mean..I’m not here to talk about witches but, but I’ll tell you this.“

Paul Crouch: “They..they under they know the secret.“

Benny Hinn: “,,,because see I had a witch tell me this. And I said what!? She said, listen to me, she said do you know that we are taught in witchcraft how to kill birds with words, and how to kill people with our mouth. I said what do you mean kill people? She said we are taught with words to bring disease on men. I said how? She said by speaking certain words (unintelligible) she said we can actually cause sickness that could very well kill.”
—————————————
Kenneth Copeland: “Jesus said that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks and that’s when the action takes place because that is when the spiritual force is brought up out of the mouth – whether it be fear or whether it be faith – and when that spiritual force comes out, it is going to give substance to that image that is inside of you. People say, ‘that is that New Age visualization stuff’. The New Age is trying to do this. And they get somewhat results out of it because it is a spiritual law.”

(Cross posted at RPT) This is an import from my old blog as well as an updated video file (made HD) of a post I did in March of 2009 in regards to a couple of heretics, John Crowder and Benjamin Dunn. A medical professor (from UCLA) we knew from a life-group my wife and myself were part of many years back responded to a question of mine in regards to a specific miraculous claims made by these two yahoos, what is known as the “pee-pee miracle.” In the following video you will see a travesty of the GOSPEL message in action.

In the background you can hear a girl laughing… I think they are laughing at the expense of these foolios. The Gospel didn’t visit those garbage people that day, entertainment did:

This video shows a miracle that — if true — the person receiving it would have been dead a long time ago. I asked a friend about this, he happens to be a medical doctor; OF COURSE I knew the answer, most rational people would. However, for some technical input, here is the question with the answer:

I asked this question:

“What would happen to a person if they couldn’t pee/urinate at all for 6-months? I know this is an odd question, but so are the people I am asking about.”

Here is his answer:

“Hi Sean…. with regards to your first question – if someone doesn’t urinate for 6 months usually they are dead. The bottom line is – they either have a urinary outlet obstruction or their kidneys have completely failed and make no urine at all. In the former case, obstruction will lead to renal failure due to the increased back pressure on the system. Anyhow, without intervention – renal failure and inability to urinate will lead to volume overload in your entire body as well as multiple electrolyte abnormalities the most common is elevated serum potassium which often leads to fatal cardiac arrhythmia. I hope this helps.”

— Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine, UCLA.

Music during the text section is a song by Thousand Foot Krutch titled “New Drug” found on their album, The Flame In All of Us. (Find on AMAZON)

Yes, when a campaign merely relies on “black” and “pastor” while not fully understanding the depths of false narratives typically associated with televangelists theology as well as one’s own self aggrandizement (ego) involved in such money making careers… you will invariably run into such issues as we see below:

SOURCE: Yes we know, he makes you feel good… and he’s sooo nice. But let’s be honest: he’s not good for you.

Here are 10 reasons why you should break up with Joel Osteen (and find a real pastor):

1. He takes Bible verses completely out of context and changes the meaning of God’s Word. A lot of times he only uses half a verse! This is not a mistake, girl-he’s doing it on purpose! No real man of God would ever do that. Ever! Anybody can hold up a Bible and wave it around, a real pastor dedicates himself to studying it, and then carefully and faithfully explaining it in context. A phony pastor uses it like a prop and pulls stuff out of it to make it say whatever he wants.

2. He tells you all the things you wanna hear, but they aren’t really true. He’s appealing to your selfish “felt needs,” because he doesn’t care enough to tell you the hard truth that would actually help you. He’s promising you all sorts of earthly comfort, prosperity and happiness, but those are empty promises-and you know it. He’s leading you on!

3. He isn’t giving you the really good news-the Gospel of Jesus Christ. You know, the message of repentance and the forgiveness of sins. He should be promising you the one thing a pastor can promise you: the free gift of salvation and eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ; but instead he’s puffing you up with false dreams of worldly success. You’re falling for that? Once he has ignored the true Gospel, he replaces it with the crazy “God wants to bless you, but He can’t-you have to do you’re part” teaching. Is he talking about the sovereign God who made the whole universe out of nothing, or is this a genie in a bottle who needs us to figure out the secret password??

4. He’s getting rich off of you-that’s not what pastors are supposed to do! Now, it’s true that he’s getting rich mostly from his book sales and other income sources (he doesn’t need to take a salary from his church anymore), but without the huge audience he gained from his church and it’s TV program he never would have become so famous and sold so many books. He is not really helping others to be successful like he claims-unless they all go out and start mega-churches that have TV shows and big-time book publishing deals. He’s at the top of the pyramid!

5. He has become so huge in popularity and influence, that people think he represents true Christianity in America. You know that’s not right! He teaches a “Word of Faith” version of Christianity that doesn’t come from the Bible at all-it actually comes from Kenneth Hagin, who plagiarized E. W. Kenyon, and Kenyon was getting ideas from Phineas P. Quimby-the same guy whose non-Christian metaphysical ideas influenced Christian Science. When Osteen says we can “speak things into existence” he’s talking about sorcery-not Christianity!

6. You’re falling for all that bling? Really?? A big fancy stadium, a TV Show, best-selling books… that doesn’t mean he’s telling you the truth! Are you gonna trust someone with your very soul, just because they’re rich and famous? Did you know that Joel Osteen only went to college to study radio and television communications-but he never even graduated? But worse than that, he never studied the Bible or theology at any Bible school, college or seminary-ever! He’s making it up as he goes! Real pastors are carefully trained in good doctrine-otherwise they end up saying things about God that aren’t true, and they lead people away from the true God!

7. He’s not gonna be there for you when you need him! He’s not a real pastor, he’s a millionaire celebrity! A real pastor sits down with you and carefully explains God’s Word, week after week after week. This guy is flying around the world, hobnobbing with Oprah and who knows who. A real pastor takes care of his sheep-he doesn’t just go onstage and give a little motivational speech once a week. These mega-pastors are completely isolated from the “regular” folks-just like rock stars, big politicians and movie stars.

8. He’s setting a bad example of a Christian pastor, and you’re setting a bad example by following him. Most unbelievers can see that this guy is kind of a joke (or worse), but way too many gullible Christians are propping him up, and we should know better. Basically, having an unqualified, Bible-twisting, multi-millionaire celebrity described as a “pastor” is a very big embarrassment to the Church. If we are going to be credible followers of Christ, we should have credible pastors; pastors who will “contend earnestly for the faith” and who will “speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine,” not a guy who scratches people’s itching ears and tells them what they want to hear.

9. Admit it-you like being part of something really really BIG! It’s one of the oldest tricks in the book: you’re with all those like-minded people and you get to say “I’m a part of something really important and exciting!” It’s like you’re at the Super Bowl or something. It’s no accident that these mega-churches have exciting rock bands with light shows and giant video screens-they are manipulating you until you can no longer resist. Get a grip! This guy will never even know you’re name-you’re just another seat filler. A real church with a real pastor is not like this. You deserve better!

10. Here’s a list of shocking things you’re not supposed to know; Joel Osteen will NOT mention these Bible verses because he’s not a real pastor. Break up with him, and find a real pastor at a real church. You will be so glad to hear the true Gospel of Jesus Christ!

For years I hear about this documentary film but have never seen it. It was very informative but also very sad and heart-wrenching. If you have lost someone who died from Word of Faith teachings, like I have, this will be very emotional for you to watch. But it is an excellent expose piece that should be shared far and wide. Please share this!!!

While I appreciate her earnestness, if she is involved in T.D. Jakes “church,” I doubt she is learning anything of significance that I would call “orthodoxy.” Apprising Ministries has a video clip of T.D. Jakes and Joyce Meyer teaching the “little god” doctrine that is from the pit of hell (see Genesis 3:5). What I am finding out recently is that he is getting into bed with the “emergent movement.” From one set of errors to another.

I pray that Miss Garner and her kids, that she get involved in a healthy, well-balanced church… if she is in fact not right now. (For more info, see my post on Miss Garner)

Chris Rosebrough of Pirate Christian Radio ends his look at Jesse Duplantis’ cultic teachings of the Health and Wealth “Gospel” saying that Jesse is not on “team Jesus’ side.” Funny.
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For more sound doctrinal discussions, see: http://www.piratechristian.com/

Pirate Christian Radio focuses on Robert Morris’ false teaching on the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Enjoy the correcting power of Scripture as Chris Rosebrough looks Biblically at the issue.
___________________________
For more sound doctrinal discussions, see: http://www.piratechristian.com/

Suppose your daughter walked up to you with a concerned look on her face, and started telling you about being really scared of certain kids at school who were known for bullying others. What if your response to her was “Scared? Don’t you know that fear is not supposed to play any role in a Christian’s life? By giving way to fear you are only inviting the devil to exacerbate the problem. Why be so negative? Banish fear in your life and start talking about how confident you are! Have more faith in God!” How effective do you suppose that “advice” would be in your daughter’s life?

Further suppose your daughter started complaining about some recurring pain she was experiencing in her abdomen. What if your response was “Don’t talk about pain, only confess how blessed you are by God! By talking repeatedly about your pain you are setting a law into motion – -what you talk about becomes reality. Talk about how good and healthy you feel — then your external circumstances will start lining up with your words!” How effective do you think such “motherly” advice would be?

Personally I think that most level-headed Christians, and just plain folks in general, would feel like nominating that mother for a “worst mother of the year” award. Bullying is a major problem in many of our schools, and it takes a concerted effort by students, teachers, and parents to put a stop to it. Teen suicides have often been linked to being bullied. Repeated pain in the abdomen could well be a serious indicator of appendicitis or something much worse; a trip to the doctor is in order. Unfortunately, however, there are quite a few Christians who have fallen prey to this strange teaching that we create our own physical reality by the words we speak. Supposedly if we only speak “positive” words, then “positive” things will happen to us, and conversely, if we speak “negative” words, then “negative” things will happen to us. This, many are told, is what “faith” consists of — it is taught in certain churches right here in the Columbia area.

It would be laughable if it were not for the fact that I have seen a lot of intelligent, devout Christian folks fall for it. It certainly is not traditional, orthodox Christian faith — if one could only step back in time a few decades prior in history and run that “teaching” by Christians back then, it would be met with shocked looks of incredulity. There is also nothing laughable about children being invalidated by ignoring their genuine concerns, fears, and health problems in the name of “having a positive confession.” It is more akin to folk magic beliefs in third world countries rather than the historic Christian faith.

Supposedly this is the same way God looks at us — we should only be speaking wonderful, positive things and never say anything that reveals our momentary fears, depression, pain, sufferings, etc. Isn’t it interesting that King David, one of the most revered Biblical heroes of the Old Testament, penned such psalms as “How long must I wrestle with my thoughts, and every day have sorrow in my heart?” (Psalms 13:2). How about “O Lord, how many are my foes! How many rise up against me!” (Psalms 3:1). Then there is that classic line “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Psalms 22:1). That thought was quoted by our Savior Jesus Christ hanging on the cross — oh my, the “negativity” of it all! An important point to remember is that these Psalms were ancient Israel’s hymnbook. It is what they used in their worship. In times of national distress they would sing these “negative” Psalms in their worship to God, fully expressing the depths of their misery. They knew that God was a loving father and would hear them in their distress. God wouldn’t browbeat them for expressing the fact of their misery.

While in the Word of Faith movement God started dealing with my heart through that “still small voice.” The first thing that I noticed was that no matter how much they preached about how every one of us should be a “little Jesus,” I never did see any tremendous “mass healings.” Some of the leaders in the movement had sicknesses in their families just like everyone else; no one really walked in divine health all of the time. I also noticed that there were some saints of God who were obviously more spiritually mature than I was at that time and yet they had to deal with illnesses — while I was “healthy as a horse.” On the other hand I noticed there were some rotten sinner boys who were always quite healthy, and some wicked people lived to extremely old ages while some saints died early in life.

Their twisting of the story of Job was what really got my attention. There was a recommended little pamphlet entitled “The truth about Job” which made the following claims:

1. Job gave way to fear because he was offering sacrifices for his children.

2. Fear is the opposite of faith and thus is a sin.

3. Job’s sin is what “lowered the hedge” of God’s protection and got the devil’s attention which allowed access to Job’s life.

A simple cursory reading of the first two chapters of Job dispels that nonsense. Job was not sinning, he was “blameless and upright” (Job 1:1). Fear is not the opposite of faith, rather unbelief is the opposite. A healthy fear of the Lord is actually the “beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 1:7). There was nothing that Job was doing that got the devil’s attention, rather it was God who got the devil’s attention by saying to Satan — “have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him: he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil” (Job 1:8). After all of Job’s tragedy had befallen him, he worshipped and stated “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away…” (Job 1:21). Contrary to the Word of Faith claim that God never “takes away” (always the devil), Job’s statement is verified as truth in verse 22 “In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.” The method was the devil, but the authorization was God’s.

The Word of Faith view on Job literally turned the story upside down in order to make it “theologically fit.” The little cracks in my Faith theology were turning into major fissures under the prompting of the Holy Spirit and I was realizing that my beliefs were so black and white, so cut and dried, so simplistic that they could not stand serious scrutiny in light of all God’s Word. When your view is that God is always good and the devil is always bad — which supposedly entails that followers of God are always blessed with good things and people who sin are always cursed with bad things — then the story of Job is a serious impediment. We were literally becoming “Job’s comforters” in putting the blame on Job in order to interpret the Scripture through our Word of Faith lens. Rather than judge believer’s spiritual maturity by their prosperity or good health or tragedy that befalls them, we should have judged by what kind of fruit they bore over an extended period of time — their love for other people and their works to help the helpless or how they struggle to keep all sin out of their lives.

Today I got to interview tithing expert Ron Robey on my online TV show. He has written over 100 articles and 3 books on the topic. And he has a appeared on several well known Christian radio shows. Ron really knew his stuff and I did a good job of just asking questions so it turned out to be my best of 5 TV shows so far. This should convince anyone that tithing 10% to the church by compulsion is not taught in scriptures. – Damon Whitsell

Tonight I did my first apologetics TV show @ http://how2becomeachristiantv.com/. It turned out good. I interviewed ex-Church of Christ member Tyler Clay Morgan​ on how he was an atheist, got saved in a CoC church, got abused and then became a Lutheran, and some about his pro wrestling career. Tyler did a great job and was very personable and I thank him for coming on the show and helping me kick things off. I will have CoC pastor and reformer Brandon J. Thomas​ on this Tuesday @ 8pm central time for my second show and I will be doing a weekly show every week at that time. You can follow the show several ways on the site. Please do so if you would like to watch future shows. Announcement post will go out a few hours before each show. THANKS -Damon.

I recently started an apologetics TV show @ How2BecomeAChristianTV.com and I would like to invite all ex-Word of Faithers to come on the show and tell their testimonies. This site has the best and longest list of ex-WoF testimonies on the internet but it would take this site to the next level of helping people if it also had many video testimonies from ex-Word of Faithers. I would also one day like to do a round-table discussion on the Word of Faith movement. Please pray that God will see fit to make that happen and if your a former Word of Faither and would like to tell your testimony please contract me through the comments page here or by email at damonw_25@yahoo.com. THANKS!!!

I am starting a TV show on Christian Apologetics @ http://how2becomeachristiantv.com/. My first 12 or so shows will be on the Church of Christ but I will move on to other topics after that and will eventually do some shows on the Word of Faith Movement.

My first guest will be former CoCer Tyler Morgan, who was an atheist 3 years ago who got saved in a CoC church but left the CoC because of CoC control tactics and spiritual abuse by the CoC. He is now a confessional Lutheran. He is a Christian Music Producer and used to be a professional wrestler, so it should be a good show considering Tyler has only been studying on his own for 1 1/2 years. He now considers himself a theology nerd and knows his stuff. The LIVE show with Tyler will be this sunday, the 20th of December, @ 8pm central time.

My next quest will be Brandon Thomas who grew up in the CoC, was a Congo member for 26 years and the pastor of a non-hardline CoC church for 9 years. Brandon now is a sports and street minster who wanst to come on the show to tell his testimony and talk about hardline CoC doctrine. I think Brandon will make for another enjoyable show.

SO COME VISIT and watch the shows @ http://how2becomeachristiantv.com/. Please also subscribe to the blog for post delivered by email so you will not miss any future episodes.

SOURCE: If Mr. Parsley really believed he had the apostolic gift of healing, why wouldn’t he go on his own television show and, before a global audience, receive the miraculous healing power from God he claims to have?

“Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe.” John 4:48 (KJV)

Faith healer and prosperity preacher Rod Parsley has for many years made his living by dramatically laying hands on people, “slaying them” in the spirit and pronouncing them to be “healed” as they fall backwards in comical obedience to his commands. Now, faith healer Parsley has been diagnosed with throat cancer, and he’s doing a strange thing. Instead of having someone in his church with the “anointing” to lay hands on him, or go to another high-profile “healer” like Benny Hinn or Peter Popoff, Rod Parsley is taking radiation treatments at his local hospital.

Look at this ridiculous video from one of his “healing services”, where people fall down like Keystone Cops. What’s not funny about this video is how false teachers with false doctrine deceive people, promise things they can in no way deliver, and end up ruining people’s lives. Why isn’t Rod up there “getting healed”? Hmm…excellent question.

Parsley says this about his treatment: “Whatever medication I take, I stand against any side effects. I say, “This medication will do exactly what God and my doctors purpose it to do, and will harm me in no way.” The Bible says, Mark 16—and I’ve stood on this, “If they drink any deadly thing, it shall not harm them,” meaning whatever comes in to my body to help bring healing will not harm me, for I’m a child of God.”

Now we here at NTEB certainly do wish a speedy and full recovery for Mr. Parsley in his cancer battle, make no mistake about that. But we also wish to point out the true powerlessness of self-proclaimed faith healers, and the damage their false doctrine does to the body of Christ. We do not live in the days of the apostles, and as such, the apostolic gifts of healing do not exist in our present Church Age. This is what the Bible teaches us. Rod Parsley is one of the highest-profile faith healers on television today, and yet he is completely unable to obtain the “miracle healing” he has purported to be able to freely dispense to others since he began in the ministry in 1977.

If Mr. Parsley really believed he had the apostolic gift of healing, why wouldn’t he go on his own television show and, before a global audience, receive the miraculous healing power from God he claims to have? Why doesn’t he invite TD Jakes, Creflo Dollar, Benny Hinn or any of the others to perform a healing on him while the cameras are rolling? He won’t do that because it would be the end of his ministry, and the end of the ministries of any of his faith healing buddies when they publically failed to heal him.

So the next time you are tempted to go to a “healing crusade” and have a millionaire televangelist lay hands on you and heal you, just remember what they do when they get sick. They go to the doctors and the hospitals just like everyone else does. Does God still heal? Absolutely He does. Just not through a phony healing crusade by a powerless faith healer.

Because Rod Parsley is getting medical treatment at a hospital for his cancer, we can conclude the following:

Rod Parsley does NOT have the gift of healing

Rod Parsley’s church members do NOT have the gift of healing

Rod Parsley’s friends in the ministry (Benny Hinn, Creflo Dollar, etc) do NOT have the gift of healing. If they do, then they are cruel in not healing their friend.

Which leads us to our conclusion:

Since neither Rod Parsley, his congregation, nor his ministry peers have the gift of healing, we must conclude that everything that has taken place in their “healing crusades” has been a lie. Let’s just say, as an example, 6 months from now Benny Hinn has another huge “healing crusade”, right? Well, what a tragic joke that would be for Rod Parsley who was denied a healing. Why are not all the modern-day faith healers stepping up to heal their friend Rod? This is what they have been claiming to have to power to do for decades now. So why can’t they do it for Rod?

Think about that. God gave you a brain for a reason.

Get well, Mr. Parsley, and when you do, go back to your church and start preaching the actual gospel. It’s time to get out of the “healing business”.

THE DEADLY CONSEQUENCES OF THE FALSE “NAME IT AND CLAIM IT” HERESY. This is exactly why it is so dangerous and can be detrimental to one’s faith.

Although your sickness if very unfortunate, I guess, Rod Parsley, there is no physical “healing in the atonement”? I suppose you’re not “speaking to your disease”? You’re not going to “name it and claim it” to get rid of this cancer? Will you “bind” your illness? What will your congregants and followers say now? Do you just “not have enough faith” Rod, which is the excuse many Word of Faith preachers use when one is not healed or blessed financially?

I know this is not funny but very serious, however, I hope people who follow this teaching realize from this post that it is a false teaching.

Parsley, in his book, Renamed and Redeemed, asserts: “JESUS IS NOT SICK — I DON’T HAVE TO BE SICK.” Umm … o, really?

“I believe this is your time to receive the tangible transfer of God’s miracle-working power, and I want to encourage every one of my Breakthrough Partners and friends to send a prayer cloth along with your prayer needs to be prayed over. When I return your prayer cloth to you, I believe the tangible transfer of God’s creative power will flow into your life and birth your miracle! I believe God, Himself, will anoint you to reap a mighty harvest of your physical, spiritual and financial needs…” (World Harvest Church Website: Birthing Your Miracle, as of 7/14/99) A WHOLE LOAD OF BOVINE FECES OF COURSE!

SOURCE: If you believe with all of your heart and soul that you deserve success — and by success, I mean financial reward alongside the accompanying emotional transactions encountered in the process — then it shall come. I have foreseen this; I know it to be true.

The prosperity gospel is nothing new, nor is the train of thought guiding it limited to followers of Christ. Preachers like Joel Osteen and Creflo Dollar unabashedly preach such fortune: Your faith is measured by your success; by your beliefs shall you prosper. It’s a seductive notion, one inspiring millions of people, given the popularity of Osteen’s varied industries and Dollar’s widespread congregation, among many others.

Predating Osteen by nearly two centuries was Phineas Quimby, a mesmerist and healer born in New Hampshire in 1802. As the inspiration behind what would become known as New Thought, his philosophical system taught that God, or Infinite Intelligence, is everywhere — human beings being the major beneficiaries of such awesome divine power. Quimby wasn’t a doctor but he played one often: Sickness was the result of wrong thought, in some way implying you were responsible for your ailments — an unfortunate belief persistent in both Christian groups and New Age movements today.

Most importantly, perhaps, was Quimby’s notion that since we are divine beings, divine blessings in the form of prosperity are our birthright. Osteen agrees; in 2005 he wrote,

God wants us to prosper financially, to have plenty of money, to fulfill the destiny He has laid out for us.

One of Quimby’s favorite students, Mary Baker Eddy, ran with these ideas when founding Christian Science. She was influenced by the man to such a degree she was accused of plagiarism. Nonetheless, in 1879 Eddy founded the First Church of Christ, Scientist. From its humble beginnings in Boston (27 members in 1880), by 1936 the congregation was 269,000 strong.

Initially Eddy was also inspired by Indian philosophy, quoting passages of the Bhagavad Gita, which was in vogue for much of the 19th century in America. She later removed any references to the book; as Christian Science gained steamed, she wanted all the credit to herself.

She also denied any relationship to Spiritualism, a popular movement that claimed contact with the spirit world (even though the sisters who kicked off the movement later admitted it was a farce). Eddy’s preferred term was “malicious animal magnetism,” her fancying that people harm others through their “mental powers.” If the psychic hotline between divine and human was open, humans could travel along the same network to damage other sentient beings, which fits in nicely with the prosperity model: an unseen force checking your name off the list if you misbehave, favoring your bank account when your faith is strong.

New Thought was founded by Emma Curtis Hopkins, a former student of Eddy mostly inspired by Quimby. With roots in the 1880s, national conventions were followed by an international conference in 1914; by the ’40s there were 18 distinct schools based on New Thought’s foundation. The major focus of these schools included the development of one’s will power, the burgeoning self-help market, and, yes, financial success.

Money was on the mind of many, including Father Divine, a lesser-known figure who profited greatly from the poor and suffering during the Depression. An African-American preacher, the artist once known as George Baker, Jr. taught his Peace Mission Movement followers that he was God — he really took to heart the positive psychology aspects of New Thought. While most Christian movements were faithful to scripture, Divine was open to a little mysticism.

This approach worked like a charm. As Dax-Devlon Ross writes in The Nightmare and the Dream,

Divine’s image as a Godly figure was enhanced by the seemingly bottomless well of wealth at his disposal in the midst of the Depression. He dressed immaculately. He owned a late model luxury sedan. The suburban home [in Sayville, Long Island] was well kept.

A successful African-American in a white suburb raised the suspicion of his neighbors. A coincidence helped his cause greatly, however. After being jailed in 1932 pending psychiatric evaluation for being a public nuisance — a wealthy black man in Sayville was enough of a cause — the judge who sentenced him suddenly died. Divine’s followers took this as divine retribution; his street cred skyrocketed. By 1941, there were 178 churches under his influence, though it seems that most of the wealth stayed concentrated in his bank account.

Which seems to be the case with everyone preaching Prosperity Theology. Televangelist Dollar, a modern day Father Divine, was baffled when his Gulfstream III jet rolled off a runway in the UK in 2014. He launched a fundraising campaign to the tune of $65 million, stating it was a necessary purchase to spread God’s word. The backlash forced him to suspend his efforts, although within a few months his church announced it was indeed ready to prosper with a brand-new airplane.

Osteen, who some claim helped create the housing crash due to his advice that God will provide the resources for his congregant’s new homes, had no problem buying his own $10.5 million mansion in 2010. Osteen reportedly accepts no money from his church. His real cash cow is book sales, which, as quoted above, ensure people the Big Guy is on their side — and in their wallets.

Life needs money because life needs comforts; life needs good food; life needs good clothes, good houses.

Oddly he didn’t mention good cars, for his fleet of 93 Rolls Royces was a certain measure of his divine favor.

In his bookMystics and Messiahs, religion professor Philip Jenkins dives deep into the cult underworld that has fueled such thinking for over two centuries on American soil. He quotes a 1929 article about this trend relating to New Thought and Christian Science:

With its constant thought of prosperity, its opulent-consciousness, its belief in the limitless possibilities of the individual, [it] is simply American psychology on dress parade.

The philosophy of prosperity certainly seems to be an American creation. While other cultures have exploited its population under the guise of religious pretensions, the idea that infinite riches is available for everybody with a mind to believe, promoted by those who do indeed enjoy such wealth, is an old scheme that shows no sign of slowing. It’s like the lottery of religious lingo: Everyone has a shot, but really, only the ones calling the shots.

In addition to being flagrantly irreverent, the Oldsteen comments are absurd.

“Don’t tell anyone I told you this, but when I finish a great sermon, I feel like ripping the bible apart and smashing it on the stage,” Oldsteen tells a commenter named “Denise.”

Asked for a comment about the fake account, a Lakewood Church spokeswoman said it comes with the territory of having a lot of Facebook fans. With nearly 12 million “likes,” Joel Osteen Ministries has a huge following that’s bigger than Oprah Winfrey’s 10.8 million, for example, but nowhere near Cristiano Ronaldo’s 103.6 million, according to CNBC.

“When you achieve a certain level of influence in social media, parody accounts are a fact of life,” Lakewood spokeswoman Andrea Davis said by email. “Satire is a part of the American way.”

The idea of Osteen smashing a Bible on stage or biting “a rat’s head off like Ozzie Osbourne” is wildly at odds with his homespun image and constant smile.

Most of the fake posts have a financial theme, depicting the pastor as overly interested in money.

Although he stopped drawing a salary from the church in 2005, his net worth is estimated at $40 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. His books and related items generate about $55 million per year, the website states.

In response to a question from “Linda” about giving to the poor, “Oldsteen” says poor people will be fine if they buy his book “I Am” for $16.22. “For example, after they purchase they book, the could say ‘I am’ and then finish it with, ‘Out 16 dollars,’ ” Oldsteen stated in his response.

It’s unclear when Oldsteen started trolling the pastor of Houston’s Lakewood Church, the largest church in the United States, according to the church’s website, which cites Church Growth Today.

On Oct. 14, a commenter from Uganda alerted Joel Osteen Ministries’ Facebook followers to someone using Osteen’s photo as a profile picture and doing “ungodly things.”

Joel Osteen Ministries responded by thanking the tipster for informing them about the fraudulent account.

The humor website someecards.com also did a write-up about the fake posts and listed eight of them.

Lakewood Church pastor and New York Times best-selling author Joel Osteen advises Christians to be “respectful” when engaging people of other faiths.

“I think [Christians should] take the high ground and respect where [other people are] coming from. What I’ve seen in life is most people get their faith or their religious background from their parents,” said Osteen to The Christian Post, noting that oftentimes Christians try to prove their faith by debating others.

“I always realize — because I travel to a lot of different countries with different people of different faiths — I realize this is the way they were raised and I think people will know who the Disciples of Christ are by our love for one another. So I think respect and understanding is [the] starting point.

“[I prefer to] really make them want something that I have [such as] peace, joy and strength. Something that would be enticing to them,” continued Osteen. “Respect is one of the characteristics of showing that we’re people of faith. That we love God, that we love Jesus, and that is that we treat people with, respect and honor. Even those who disagree with us.”

Aside from providing advice on how Christians can be a living witness in sharing the Gospel with people of other faiths, Osteen also discussed his latest book The Power of I Am: Two Words That Will Change Your Life Today, which focuses on the power of words, and encourgaing believers to stop speaking negatively about themselves in internal dialogue and external conversations.

Osteen suggests Christians should use the words “I am” and follow that up with statements from God’s Word about His people.

“It’s easy to go through life and say ‘I’m unattractive, I’m slow, I’m not as smart as my brother.’ Just these negative things,” said Osteen. “I give a list of 30 or 40 positive things; I am healthy, I am disciplined, I am focused. And I believe, when you’re constantly meditating on that, those things are attracted to you. You’re sowing a seed for it to come into your life.”

Osteen believes a lot of people are raised with negative ideas about themselves or have outside events, such as deaths and divorces, which pervert their perception along the way. Others lean more toward a pessimistic attitude naturally, according to the pastor.

He hopes those who read The Power of I Am will begin to turn those negative thoughts around to positive ones and start to build productive images of themselves in their minds based on what God has said about them.

“The real battle is taking place in our minds and thoughts. Because we all have negative circumstances. You can view them and get negative and discouraged, or you can turn it around and say, ‘God, thank you that you’re fighting my battles.’ It’s what the Scripture says. Rejoice in the Lord always and count it all joy when you face trials,” he said.

Closely following the release of his next book, Osteen is preparing to host his “Night Of Hope” event at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, on Oct. 16.

“New Yorkers are people who love the Lord. We’ve been to Yankee Stadium twice and we just love being in New York. It’s a great place. [New Yorkers] are very outspoken and demonstrative. They clap, they sing, they cheer. It surprised me. I thought they’d be quiet, maybe a little bit cold, but I find just the opposite,” said Osteen.

SOURCE: No matter what I say, somebody is going to be mad because people take their movies seriously. Try pointing out that the third season of Star Trek is pretty bad at a fan convention. They might agree, but the justifications will begin. How do I know? I have made the excuses. There is good to be found, if you are fan, even in Spock’s Brain. O.K. No. There is not.

We justify what we want to enjoy even when we should not.

War Room isn’t a good movie. I hate to say that War Room is not a good movie because I want to encourage Christians to make movies. The movie isn’t very well made, the acting is marginal, and the writing is wretched. Nobody talks like the characters in the film and the plot holes are very great. Trust me. If you steal drugs and money for your stash, you will go to jail.

War Room is a film that allows African-Americans a voice. That is a good thing, but a bad thing is that voice given To these characters is so sanitized and homogenized. This movie plays it so safe with the audience it hopes to lure that it betrays any authenticity.

If you enjoyed the film, I am not saying you are wrong to enjoy it. Enjoy. Yet know this: the fact that so many Christian films are wretched, overly written, and full of religious jargon is harming this generation. Do you want to know one reason for people leaving the church?

We have made wretched pop culture and called it Christian. We have taught lies and called them good theology. We have tolerated television preachers that shamed the cause of Christ such as Robert Tilton or Benny Hinn. I have a high tolerance for bad pop culture: I watched all of the third season of Star Trek and enjoyed it. I love the Hallmark Channel and I can watch any Christmas film.

The problem is not that cheesy is not sometimes fun (go watch Birdemic), but that cheese is almost all we have done. Nobody has to go to the multiplex to see Andrei Rublev every time. Sometimes we want some fun (Avengers!) or a date film (Notebook) and they don’t have to be great. I will watch any version of A Christmas Carol with you anytime. When War Room is one of the better films in the genre, we are bloated on cheese . . . and it is American cheese not the real cheese.

I know some movies in the multiplex mock what we hold dear, destroy the values of the nation, and call evil good. We are tempted to love anyone who says they love us. But films like these are worse than honest hatred, because they are dishonest love. They tell lies about reality, God, and our own experience.

And yet . . . O.K. Perhaps things will get better. War Room is better made than earlier films from these producers. As I have suggested in the past, we can be patient while our younger filmmakers learn. We don’t want our criticism to cut off their experiments . . . as anybody who has ever taught student filmmakers knows. Nobody runs up to a student preacher and crushes him. Instead, we encourage and hope. War Room is not a student film. . . Facing the Giants maybe, but this is part of a series that all contain the same basic error.

These filmmakers have had some time. They have made multiple films and the chief problem, the real danger, has not improved. The message of the movie is scary. The problem with War Room is that the Christianity isn’t really Christianity. Somebody is going to say: “Movies cannot contain an entire theology.” This is true. It need not. The difficulty is that all these films make the same mistake.

They worship Genie Jesus: not the real Jesus. Here is a basic fact: Christianity is a religion of the Cross. We take up our cross daily and follow Jesus. Prayers are the work of the soul and all our prayers are answered, but some are answered “not yet” or with continued pain. God sits in the Heavens and governs the universe. He desires what is best for me . . . but also for every being in the cosmos. I cannot always have my way in the short term in a broken universe.Read More…

VIDEO DESCRIPTION: Andrew Wommack is a Word Faith teacher who has had great success in spreading his message across the world. In this video, you will hear him espouse his heretical teachings, along with a sound Biblical response.

SOURCE: I recently read a news article about “evangelicals” supporting Donald Trump for president of the United States. The focus of the article, its case study, was Florida mega-church pastor and sometime religious television personality Paula White. Her church in suburban Orlando attracts about twenty thousand attenders and thousands more watch her on television and read her writings. She is emerging as a leading spokesperson for “American evangelicals.” According to most sources I read about her, however, her version of evangelical Christianity is what is popularly known as the “Prosperity Gospel.” The thrust of that theology is that God wants his people to be healthy and financially prosperous if not rich. If they have sufficient faith, expressed in the right ways, they can and should overcome poverty, live lives of financial abundance (if not luxury) and be physically well all the time—right up until they die.

I have written about this “gospel of health and wealth,” this “prosperity gospel,” what some call “Word-Faith theology,” here and in my recently published book Counterfeit Christianity (Abingdon Press, 2015). All across the United States and much of the world certain “evangelical” evangelists and pastors are promoting this theology as their primary theme. Its beginnings lie in nineteenth century New Thought—the movement begun by evangelist Phineas Quimby in England in the early nineteenth century. Where Quimby got it is unknown, but “mind over matter” philosophies were “in the air” in both Europe and America—driven at least somewhat by a vulgarized interpretation of German idealism that metaphysically connected thought and being as inseparable.

Quimby became Mary Baker Eddy’s “guru” and she claimed healing through his ministry of mentalism—mind over matter using positive thinking and speaking. She, of course, went on to found what is popularly known as “Christian Science”—one of the first and best known organized forms of New Thought. (The official name of the organization is, of course, The Church of Christ, Scientist.) But there were numerous other individual “practitioners” of New Thought and several religious groups grew out of the movement—Unity, Religious Science, and Divine Science of the Mind (to name a few). The common idea of all of them was that God’s power to heal and prosper lies in the human mind because God’s mind and the human mind are not separate but interconnected.

Several Christian writers picked up the basic ideas of New Thought without joining any particular New Thought religious organization. One of the best known and most influential was Napoleon Hill (1883-1970), author of the best-selling book Think and Grow Rich (1937). Sometime later several books were published with titles like Pray and Grow Rich. New Thought’s idea of “prayer” was simply positive thinking and speaking—a form of magic.

The beginning of New Thought infiltrating evangelical Christianity has been traced by several scholars to a healing evangelist and author named E. W. Kenyon (1867-1948). During the same time that New Thought was growing in popularity and influence, a new emphasis on healing through prayer was spreading among Holiness Christians—evangelicals who believed in the power of God to heal sickness through powerful prayer. Kenyon brought the two together—the evangelical healing movement and New Thought. To Holiness-Pentecostals who prayed for the sick to be healed he added the dimension of positive thinking and speaking.

The contemporary movement known as Word-Faith exists primarily among Pentecostal and charismatic Christians. The immediate “father” of the movement was Kenneth Hagin (1917-2003), founder of the very large and influential Rhema Bible Institute in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Some scholars claim he received his “name it and claim it” message about health and wealth from Kenyon. Hagin himself denied that and claimed both received it from the Bible and “revelation”—the “rhema Word” which is God’s contemporary revelation as distinct from the “logos Word” which is God revelation in the past—especially in the Bible. Hagin claimed the two are entirely consistent and that the “rhema Word” of contemporary prophecy is simply unfolding and giving new impetus to the Bible’s message that God wants his people to prosper and be in health. The method of prospering and being in health, according to Hagin and other Word-Faith evangelists is “speaking the Word.” It is not enough simply to think positively; one must speak health and prosperity into existence.

Many critical observers noticed strong similarities between this Word-Faith teaching and the ideas of a New Thought group called Unity headquartered in Lee’s Summit, Missouri. Unity was founded by Charles and Myrtle Fillmore (1854-1948 and 1845-1931 respectively) who, like Eddy, were influenced by Quimby (although less directly). Perhaps the leading New Thought popularizer was a man named Ernest Holmes (1887-1960) who many scholars of the New Thought movement regard as its purest and best thinker. His influence on the movement in the 20th century was pervasive and profound.

The precise mechanisms of influence of New Thought on Pentecostal-charismatic Word-Faith theology is much debated, but there is general agreement on Kenyon as a major player in blending them and transmitting that hybrid theology to twentieth century Pentecostal-charismatics like Hagin who, in turn, passed it on to popularizers such as Kenneth Copeland and Joel Osteen.

Another “strain” of New Thought entered into so-called “mainstream” Protestantism through popular Reformed pastor and writer Norman Vincent Peale (1898-1993), pastor of the historic Marble Collegiate Church (New York City) and author of The Power of Positive Thinking. A favorite saying of Peale’s was “Change your thoughts and you can change your world.” Peale is generally considered to have been Robert Schuller’s inspiration. He founded the wildly popular magazine Guideposts.

Again, the precise mechanisms of New Thought’s influence on Peale are unknown, but by the time he wrote The Power of Positive Thinking elements of New Thought were simply “in the air” in American culture. But Peale seems to have drawn on New Thought for his basic philosophy of success in life, blending it with “mainline Protestantism,” and handed that on to people like Robert Schuller. (Peale and Schuller belonged to the same denomination, the old Dutch Reformed Church now known as the Reformed Church of America.)

My question is whether this “gospel of health and wealth” through positive thinking and speaking, this “prosperity gospel,” this “Word-Faith movement,” this “name it and claim it” teaching, is authentically evangelical. It is a valid evangelical option? Apparently the national news media thinks so. They are labeling prosperity gospel preachers like Paula White “evangelicals.” And most of them do claim to be evangelical in some sense.

As often in these blog posts, I will include a personal sidebar here. As my faithful readers know, I grew up Pentecostal—within what scholars call “classical Pentecostalism.” We strongly opposed fringe movements such as the Latter Rain Movement that included belief in “manifest sons of God” (modern day apostles capable of living independently of natural laws). When the prosperity gospel first burst on the scene in the 1970s through books such as How to Live Like a King’s Kid by Harold Hill (1974) we “classical Pentecostals” by-and-large rejected it. That led to numerous Pentecostal and charismatic churches dividing. Suddenly, in a matter of a decade, most cities had at least one “Word-Faith church” dedicated to the gospel of health and wealth through positive thinking and speaking. Most of them looked to Hagin and his enormous ministry in Tulsa. Hagin himself was already well-known to most classical Pentecostal pastors in the U.S. He had been an Assemblies of God minister with a radio program. I used to listen to it (around 1970-1971) on Christian radio station KDMI in Des Moines—when I was just entering Bible college. I remember wondering why God would speak directly to a contemporary American evangelist in King James English. The Assemblies of God and other classical Pentecostal groups distanced themselves from Hagin and other Word-Faith evangelists and “teachers,” but their influenced grew nevertheless and many classical Pentecostal churches were eventually infiltrated with Word-Faith, prosperity gospel teachings.

Many, perhaps most, evangelicals and classical Pentecostals came to think of the Word-Faith movement, the prosperity gospel, as “our lunatic fringe.” A comparison would be the 1950s Latter Rain Movement which swept American Pentecostalism and divided it with the result that virtually every city of any size had at least one “Full Gospel” church that was influenced by it. (These Latter Rain churches claimed that they frequently had visible visitations by angels during worship services and that they saw “glory clouds” and “holy oil” appearing during them. But the heretical teaching at the heart of the movement was that of the “manifest sons of God” who, they claimed, rose above normal humanity—a kind of realized eschatology.)

I lived through the rise of the Word-Faith prosperity gospel among Pentecostals in the 1970s and 1980s. I observed churches being torn apart by it. For the most part classical Pentecostal leaders distanced themselves from it and many even condemned it as heresy. But many accommodated to it—to hold onto many of their members rather than lose them to the new upstart Word-Faith “ministries” being founded mostly by graduates of Rhema Bible Institute.

After leaving Pentecostalism and becoming Baptist, I thought I had left that particular controversy behind. However, my first full-time teaching position was at Oral Roberts University where I tried my best to counter the pervasive influence of the Word-Faith prosperity gospel teaching among students, many of whom were transfers to ORU from Rhema. Many Word-Faith evangelists spoke in ORU’s required chapel services. Oral Roberts himself seemed to be adopting elements of Word-Faith teaching. The university faculty, however, by-and-large opposed it which created tension on campus. One of my theology colleagues, Charles Farah, wrote one of the best books critical of Word-Faith prosperity teaching—From the Pinnacle of the Temple—in which he helpfully distinguished between faith and presumption. At that time many, very many, followers of the Word-Faith teaching were refusing medical treatment and discarding their much-needed glasses—as expressions of their “absolute faith” in God’s healing power. Many were racking up huge credit card debt and buying houses beyond what they could really afford—as evidences of their total trust in the power of God to provide wealth.

I thought this Word-Faith teaching, rooted as it is in New Thought and as strange and fanatical as it is, would never be taught at a “mainline” Protestant seminary. But a couple of years ago I was surprised, even shocked, when I sat in on a church history class at a so-called mainline Protestant seminary and heard a Hispanic professor, herself of Pentecostal extraction, extol the Word-Faith prosperity gospel as something very positive and good—especially for oppressed Hispanics and African-Americans. She asked the class of seminarians “What other theology can give them hope for a better life?” I quickly jotted down on a piece of paper “liberation theology?” and showed it to the student sitting next to me. He raised his hand and the professor called on him. He said “liberation theology?” She simply dismissed it as irrelevant without even attempting to discuss the pros or cons of liberation theology.

Now, according to news reports I have read, a leading Word-Faith, prosperity gospel pastor-evangelist named Paula White (pastor of a mega-church with about twenty thousand attenders and host of a religious television talk show) is being labeled “evangelical” by the media and being connected by them with Donald Trump—as his religious “point person” to connect him with “evangelical” Christians. This raises so many questions I don’t even know where to begin. Strangely, however, I think I do see a connection—between the prosperity gospel of health and wealth (as God’s blessings) and religious support for Trump.

As an evangelical theologian and church historian, however, my main interest lies in exposing the Word-Faith “gospel” of prosperity as non-evangelical and even non-Christian—at least insofar as it focuses with heavy emphasis on manipulating God to give one financial wealth, material abundance, and guaranteed health. This is a theology that blatantly denies God’s sovereignty, God’s freedom, God’s holy otherness, turning God into a cosmic slot machine. And it distorts prayer into magic. The whole focus of the Bible shifts and becomes human centered rather than God centered. And it is rooted in extra-biblical “revelations” themselves rooted in New Thought—a philosophy that teaches that the power of God to create reality lies dormant within the human mind and mouth.

I call on all evangelical leaders, influencers, to take a strong public stand against this alternative gospel and reject it as non-evangelical. It is, in my opinion, cultic in the theological sense. That the media are beginning to treat Word-Faith promoters of the “gospel” of health and wealth through magic as evangelicals is scandalous. The movers and shakers of evangelical Christianity in America and everywhere need to band together in spite of our differences and say to the media “They are not us; stop calling them ‘evangelicals’.”

I anticipate some objections. Some may recall that I have argued that evangelicalism is not a “bounded set category” but a “centered set category.” But I have also always offered the caveat that being “evangelical” is not compatible with anything and everything. There is a center and that center can be corrupted to the point where people claiming to be evangelical cannot be recognized as evangelical. The prosperity gospel of health and wealth is such a mutation of classical evangelical Christianity that it is unrecognizable as that; it is “different gospel,” one that holds out false hope to desperate people about a god who can be manipulated to, about “prayer” as magic, and about guaranteed health and wealth through pretending it exists when it doesn’t. I substitutes faith with presumption and places material “abundance” at the center in place of God who calls us to service rather than greed.

I am not saying followers of the Word Faith “gospel” are not Christians, but I do wonder about some of their leaders and their true motives. It’s the promoters of this false gospel I aim criticism at, not the masses of deluded followers many of whom are simply desperate people being seduced into false hope and counterfeit Christianity.

SOURCE: If you do not know the Kendrick brothers by name, you almost certainly know them by their films: Flywheel (2003), Facing the Giants (2006), Fireproof (2008), and Courageous (2011). Stephen, Alex, and Shannon Kendrick have just released their fifth faith-based film, War Room. War Room, starring popular Bible teachers Priscilla Shirer and Beth Moore, looks like it may well be the most successful of their films to date bringing in $11 million just on its opening weekend; more than triple it’s $3 million production budget.

Given the popularity of Christian themed films and the considerable buzz about this one in particular, my wife, Kathy, and I went to see War Room on the evening of September 3rd so that I could write a review. For those of you who read my review of Mark Burnett and Roma Downey’s movie, Son of God, you know that I am a bit skeptical of the Christian movie genre as a whole. Nonetheless, I do want to offer what I hope to be a fair review. This review will not touch on every single facet of the movie or even on every theme it presents, but I do hope to address what I believe to be the most important of them.

Plot Overview

War Room is centered around Tony and Elizabeth Jordan, their ten year old daughter, Danielle, and Elizabeth’s real estate client-turned Christian friend, Mrs. Clara. The Jordan marriage is in serious trouble. Tony, a pharmaceutical salesman who travels extensively in his work, is the kind of husband and father one loves to hate. Though a hard worker, he shows little interest in his daughter and pursues a female work interest behind his wife’s back. Elizabeth, played by Priscilla Shirer, goes to Mrs. Clara’s home discuss the particulars of putting it on the market. The meeting, however, went far beyond deciding on a listing price for the house.

Mrs. Clara, an older widow, is a Christian fiercely devoted to prayer which she does in a closet she has dubbed her “War Room.” Mrs. Clara goes to war here, battling Satan who is portrayed as the source of every form of evil plaguing mankind. Rather than plotting troop positions on a military map, Mrs. Clara pins prayer requests and Scripture verses on the wall of her war room, prays to God, and rebukes the Enemy.

Mrs. Clara begins to ask Elizabeth some probing questions about her family, marriage, and church attendance. Upon learning that the Jordan family is at the point of collapse, Mrs. Clara exhorts Elizabeth to fight for her marriage in her own war room.

Slowly but surely, Elizabeth is changed by her newly found prayer life and by reading the Bible. One day in her war room, she discovers via a friend’s text that Tony has been seen in a restaurant with another woman. Elizabeth immediately prays for her husband and asks God to stop him. God gives Tony a stomach ache in the restaurant preventing him from following through with his adulterous plans.

Shortly after this, Tony is fired from his job. Rather than the anger and sarcasm he expected to receive from Elizabeth upon hearing this news, she offered him love and support. The change he sees in his wife eventually changes Tony as well. He confesses his sin and turns back to God. He seeks and is granted forgiveness from both Elizabeth and Danielle, and the Jordan family is on the fast track of restoration.

Despite his new life, Tony is fired from his job. What his boss did not know, though, was that Tony had been stealing drugs from the company, selling them and pocketing the profits. Though he had gotten away with it, his now sensitive conscience drove him to return to meet with his former boss, confess his theft and make restitution. His boss could easily have turned Tony in to the authorities to face prison but chose not to do so. The Jordan family was spared the loss of being torn apart again just as it had begun to heal. Tony eventually found a new, though less lucrative job, his family grew closer to one another and the Lord, Mrs. Clara’s house sold to a pastor and his wife, and all was well because of the battles fought in the War Room.

Strengths

The movie was, of course, clean. There was neither foul language nor any innuendos (other than what was about to happen between Tony and his almost-mistress at the restaurant) anywhere to be found.Read More…

Paula White recently married Jonathan Cain, the keyboardist from Journey. Evidently, it is the third marriage for both of them.

Cain claims that God told him to divorce his wife and leave his kids. Shortly thereafter, Cain met Paula White on an airplane and they eventually got married.

Recently, they preached together on the importance of Intimacy in marriage. Jonathan Cain, in a major faux pas, encouraged the congregation to watch porn and admonished wives to “find out what your husband’s sexual needs are and meet them.” He said that wives should “educate themselves” and if necessary, watch porn to find out how to meet your husband’s needs. Paula laughed and quickly tried to explain and rationalize her husband’s comments, but they both sounded foolish. To hear the actual sermon with analysis by Chris Rosebough, listen to this episode of “Fighting for the Faith.”

As Chris Rosebough points out, pornography is the worst thing around, and no one should ever look at porn to strengthen their marriage.

Paula and Jonathan are a couple of wolves trying to fleece the flock! (text by Nickey V.)

SOURCE: Jurrasic World just passed one billion in global box office, nobody is drawing theological conclusions about it, though I am sure a few thank-God-for-Michael-Crichton’s have been said in Hollywood. In a weak Labor Day weekend, an earnest film based on the American prosperity gospel took in number one at the box office and has now made twenty-five million.

As a movie made on the cheap (three million), a few hallelujahs must have gone up at Sony. Somebody is prospering! This is a badly made, written, and acted film, but that isn’t new coming out Hollywood. What is new is the idea from the (relatively) small number of people who have seen the film is that God is behind this weekend’s box office.

“Prayer made a movie about prayer number one!”

Why would we think this so readily? Is this all we have been asking? God help us if we have been praying for movies while ISIS slaughtered more Christians over the weekend. Were we not praying in a “war room” for those Christians? Did God care more about making money for Sony than hearing our cry for the church of the Middle East?

Of course not, because prayer is our heart cry to God and not just a way to make demands in just the “right” way and have God answer our demands. God is not our Jeeves . . . a Genie Jesus who answers our prayers for a pony by giving us two ponies. He is a good Daddy and so, though He does delight to give us treats, Jesus is also eager to break us free of materialism.

There may be good reasons to root for this film, even if it isn’t very good, and one of them isn’t box office as confirmation of our theology of prayer. Perhaps most pathetic is the excitement that mainstream media is talking about the film. If getting on the Today show is a mark of God’s favor, then Jesus failed. He was not mentioned in any of the “pop culture” vehicles of His time.

There is a good reason the film has done decently, one of which is this is a slow time of year for movies. Another is that American Christians have been ignored by American media and are an untapped market niche. This niche has been exploited by independent artists as the free market always does. If the product has been bad, and mostly it has been risible, then at least the bad product might provoke something better out of the mainstream media. War Room is bad theology and bad marital advice, but at least it does not mock Christians and Christian beliefs. If it gets Christians to pray, then wonderful. But if it gets a community already apt to “prosperity gospel”* more likely to forget that Jesus prayed, ““My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” and got the Cross, then that is not good.

Christians pursue the good whether it is successful or not. I have tried to make art and failed. I know how hard it is. The problem is when we could do better and do not. We cater to our audience in artistic laziness.

Of course, prayer may have made War Room number one at the box office, no Christian would deny the possiblity. I believe in the power of prayer and God can do as He wishes, but success does not show God is blessing the film either. Many good films have done no box office and many vile films have done well. The fallacy that when a thing does well, especially as a money maker that is blessed, is common. I call it the “Mormon Blessing” argument since I first heard it from Mormon evangelists.

The Mormon Blessing argument works this way:

Mormonism started a short time ago.

Mormonism faced great persecution.

Mormonism has grown globally, showing God’s blessing.

To the retort that demons can also bless a movement with worldy success, the Mormon Blessing response is to say: “Mormonism has done great social good and brought many people back to a living faith. Is that the work of demons?” Since Mormonism has done great social good, this seems a decent retort.

The problem with the argument, of course, is that great success, even for a few centuries, means little. History is long and God’s plan is long. We cannot read the paper and discover what God is blessing or cursing. History is complicated! The historian Gibbon saw that when Christianity arose, western Rome fell. He made the simple mistake of blaming Christianity (in part) for the fall of Rome. This is the reverse of the Mormon Blessing argument.

In fact, Mormon film is sometimes of better quality than Evangelical film and has often done good box office relative to cost. Is God blessing Mollywood? I am often told that an emotional reaction in a film shows the Holy Spirit is at work, but what of the emotional pull of the Other Side of Heaven? This missionary film is powerful and moving, but it is, after all, a Mormon missionary film.

Bad things make money. Films with bad messages can make us cry or feel “warmed.” We cannot know we are blessed simply because we are making money. In fact, the Gospels suggest that it is harder for the rich man to get into the Kingdom of Heaven than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle.

So how do we know if God is blessing War Room? We know some kinds of prayers are always answered: prayers to know God, to grow in holiness, to see His face after death. We know He will come when we call, even if we do not always like what He says. We have long experience in documenting miracles as opposed to chance. God is the source and ground of all being and so we can thank Him for any good thing that happens and ask for help for the brokeness of the world. He hates death and suffering much more than we do! He caused none of it and has borne the pain of all of it personally.

I have no doubt people have been helped by War Room and I am glad for this help. God uses what God uses. He can even use me! And yet I know people turned off by films like War Room or encouraged to stay in abusive relationships and pray. The damage done by decades of bad American Evangelical television and movie making is real. We have not been fools for Christ, but foolish. There is a reason that wicked little films like Savedresonate with so many young Christians. They love the church, but they hate the smarmy culture that obscures the Gospel. Much of this is mere snobbery, but not all of it. My Christian school was nothing like the one pictured in Saved and so I found the film badly made, offensive, and untrue to my experience. Sadly, the longer I listen to students and visit their schools, the more I see that I was blessed in my school.

The pasted-on smile Christian who demands that we be happy and blessed all the time is real. I did not think it was real, but it is and it has done real damage. It isn’t snobbery to marvel at “box office blessings” in a New Testament church that should be built on the Beautitudes! Blessed are the poor in spirit, the mourners, the meek, the persecuted . . . in this age and the age to come.

__________

*Prosperity gospel: Christians can pray, and should pray, for material blessing. Christians do not just expect to generally do well by doing good, but can demand to do well by doing good. Poverty is not blessed, but blameworthy.

Keith Moore tells about his trip to heaven where “the Lord took him to see his dad” that had passed about 3 weeks before. My question is why does the Lord not do this for everyone to help them over their grief,, why for Keith and not others. Oh, you have to be a word of faith teachers and a “man of God” for that. Please watch Justin Peters’s warning about people who say they have visits to heaven before you watch Moore’s testimony.